


Case 5: Family Ties

by Haedonrocks



Series: Criminal Case: The Mystery Skulls [5]
Category: Criminal Case (Video Game), Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: F/M, Mafia Gang, previous suspects are back
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:00:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23460610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haedonrocks/pseuds/Haedonrocks
Summary: Lewis and Vivi's investigation gets interrupted by the murder of the italian mafia mobster. Lewis meets suspects from previous cases, but all of them hold secrets. Will Lewis uncover them or will there be trouble?
Relationships: Lewis/Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated)
Series: Criminal Case: The Mystery Skulls [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1684867
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

10:00 PM  
Lewis Pepper: This day has been getting better and better. First, Dr. Eric from our last case has agreed to help us with a cure for the serum that is making homeless people crazy.  
Vivi Yukino: The police did capture a couple more people who had been injected with the serum.  
Lewis Pepper: Yes, but we also know that whoever is doing this is targeting the homeless. We believe that they are targeting them because no one would expect it.  
Vivi Yukino: Even if we have a cure, they’re still going to make more, so we need to be fast on this one.  
Arthur Kingsmen: I would start at the docks. A cargo ship was at there a few hours ago, and the police wants us to make sure that they won’t steal anything there.  
Lewis Pepper: Then the docks is where we go. Vivi you’ll come with me.  
Vivi Yukino: Right behind you.

At the docks.  
Lewis Pepper: It looks like the ship got everything onto the docks.  
Vivi Yukino: Good, we can search the area if we can find this person sneaking in.  
Lewis Pepper: Actually, I think I see something where that small crane is at. I need to check it out.

Lewis investigates the docks to find a body who is hanged by his ankles, all soaked. He was male, italian, had gray hair and gray eyes, and was wearing a white buttoned shirt with suspenders and gray pants. He also finds a gray jacket and the victim’s suitcase.  
Lewis Pepper: Oh my god! There’s a dead body here. It looks like this man was hanged by his ankles and he’s all wet. This has to be murder.  
Vivi Yukino: I guess our investigation can wait. I’ll tell the others what we found.  
Lewis Pepper: While Vivi is doing that, I need to see what I got. A grey jacket, it must belong to the victim’s, there seems to be some crumbs on there. I can collect some of the crumbs to see what they are. I also found a suitcase, it has to be the victim’s, but it’s locked. I can try to crack the code. This murder might have stopped us from figuring out who the culprit is, but I won’t stop until the killer is caught. 

Lewis sends the body to Danny and collects the crumbs on the jacket.  
Lewis Pepper: I wonder what the crumbs are. Samantha can tell me what it is after she analyzes it. 

He sends the sample to the lab as he unlocks the suitcase.  
Lewis Pepper: There’s documents in the suitcase, most likely people’s profiles. What was the victim doing with all these peoples’ information in his suitcase? I should look through to find something good. 

Lewis looks through the suitcase to find a receipt.  
Lewis Pepper: A receipt, from all the things I could find, I found a receipt. Wait, this says the victim went to Fazali’s for dinner. Vivi knows a person who works at Fazali’s, Benzuli Folito. He should know who the victim is.  
Benzuli Folito is a male, italian, age 56, green eyes, has brown hair with gray sideburns with a beard, 5.5 tall, and 187 pounds. 

Benzuli Folito: Sorry signore, the restaurant is closed. Come back again next time.  
Lewis Pepper: Actually, I’m here because there was murder at the docks.  
Benzuli Folito: Another murder? Oh great, who is this time?  
Lewis Pepper: I was hoping you would know him. I found a receipt in his suitcase, recognize it?  
Benzuli Folito: Let me see. Hmm…. (Gasps) No way! I know him! It’s Mario Bigdy! The mafia boss of the Rural district.  
Lewis Pepper: Mario Bigdy is the victim's name. Do you know exactly what he was doing here?  
Benzuli Folito: No, I don’t know. He was alone at the tables until he got a phone call.  
Lewis Pepper: Did you know what it was about?  
Benzuli Folito: I couldn’t make out what he was saying, but he did say that he was going to a bar called the The Gold Barrel.  
Lewis Pepper: I’ll go check out The Gold Barrel then. 

Lewis goes to the Gold Barrel and finds a bandana and a note to the victim.  
This bar seems cool, If I was alive, I would be hammered. Anyway, I found a bandana. It doesn’t have a name, but maybe collecting that sweat can tell us who it is. There is also a post-it note to the victim. “You know where to find me Mario” . I can probably analyze the handwriting to see who wrote the message. 

Lewis collects the sweat from the bandana.  
Lewis Pepper: With this sweat, Samantha can tell me who it is. 

He sends the sweat to Samantha and analyzes the handwriting.  
Lewis Pepper: The person who wrote the message is Maria Eren. Wait a minute, wasn’t she the homeless woman that Joshua Milf harassed? She must know the victim well, I need to talk to her.

Maria Eren is female, white, age 34, 5.4 tall, has green eyes, dark hair, and weighs at 154.  
Lewis Pepper: You must be Maria Eren.  
Maria Eren: Yeah, that’s me. Now leave me alone, I'm tired.  
Lewis Pepper: I wanted to know if you knew Mario Bigdy.  
Maria Eren: Mario? Everyone should know, he’s the boss of the whole district.  
Lewis Pepper: Not anymore, someone killed him.  
Maria Eren. What? Someone had guts to kill the mafia leader? I’m surprised.  
Lewis Pepper: I found the note you gave to him. What was your relationship with him?  
Maria Eren: It was the usual, he would give me cigarettes in exchange for other people’s information.  
Lewis Pepper: So that’s why he had all those papers in his suitcase. Ok, thank you for cooperating with me. Don’t go anywhere, I might need you again.  
Maria Eren: I have nowhere to go, I’m homeless. 

In the lab.  
Lewis Pepper: Did you figure out who’s bandana it was Sammy?  
Samantha Romenz: Yep, I took some tests to run it through the database and the bandana belongs to Sebastian Filo.  
Lewis Pepper: Why does that name some familiar? Oh, that's right. He was the new leader of the Roadkills. Now we know that he was at the same bar our victim went to. I better speak to him if he knew the victim. 

Sebastian Filo is male, hispanic, age 33, blue eyes, bald, 4.6 tall, and weighs at 164.  
Sebastian Filo: Hola amigo, I like to thank you again for helping us with the funeral of Santa de Lopez and that we made peace with the Vultures.  
Lewis Pepper: Your welcome. By the way, we found your bandana at the Gold Barrel bar.  
Sebastian Filo: Oh, it was just a tradition I do everytime someone important passes away. It was Lopez’s time to go, so I left my bandana at his favorite bar.  
Lewis Pepper: I was also wanting to know if you knew Mario Bigdy. The mafia mobster.  
Sebastian Filo: I heard his name somewhere before, but never saw him face to face. Why do you ask?  
Lewis Pepper: He was murdered tonight and we thought since he went to the same bar as you, you might have seen him.  
Sebastian Filo: I love to help, but if I never met the guy, I wouldn’t have known about him.  
Lewis Pepper: I see, just be careful. The police are doing a search around the district. 

At the lab.  
Samantha Romenz: Lewis, what was your favorite meal to cook when you were alive?  
Lewis Pepper: I’m not sure, I made a lot of good meals. Why do you ask?  
Samantha Romenz: Well, let’s say the clue is my favorite meal. Ramen and crackers. It’s what I found on the victims jacket and I checked with Danny, he said that he didn’t eat any ramen or crackers.  
Lewis Pepper: So it’s our killer that eats ramen and crackers. This will be their last meal before they go to prison. 

At the morgue.  
Lewis Pepper: Did the victim really drown or was there more foul play to this?  
Danny Lins: He did drown, I found water in his lungs. What’s interesting is that your killer hit him in the back in the head to knock him out cold before tying him up on the crane. From the wound they made, you are looking for a pipe.  
Lewis Pepper: I’ll remember that. Anything else that can help me?  
Danny Lins: I looked closely at the knots the killer made and I can tell you that your killer is a professional knot maker.  
Lewis Pepper: Our killer makes good knots? They won’t be able to untie them when we put metal ones on their wrists. 

At the docks.  
Lewis Pepper: I need to rest and think about this. Our investigation got delayed because someone tied Mario Bigdy to a small crane and drowned him. I know the killer is a good knot maker and that they eat ramen and crackers. Our suspects don’t know the victim well except for Maria Eren who helps him find information for other people. Benzuli Folito didn’t know what the victim was doing at the Fazali’s and Sebastian Filo said that he never met the guy. I need to find more clues if I want to solve the murder  
Strange man: Hey you. Are you investigating Mario’s death?  
Lewis Pepper: Yes, who are you?  
Strange man: Someone who is going to ask you to stop.


	2. Chapter 2

Lewis Pepper: Our investigation was interrupted by the murder of the mafia leader, Mario Bigdy. Someone tied him up and drowned him to his death. The suspects say they don’t know much about the victim but-  
Stranger: Hey you! Are you investigating Mario’s death?  
Lewis Pepper: Yes, who are you?  
Stranger: The person who is going to ask you to stop.  
Lewis Pepper: Stop!? Are you threatening me?  
Stranger: I don’t want to hurt you. I just want to tell you to stop, you don’t know what you're getting yourself into. Crap the cops, I got to go.  
Lewis Pepper: Hey, come back here! (After a few minutes.) Dang, I lost him. How is that even possible? I’m a ghost for crying out loud. Wait, I think I see a light at that building over there. He must have to be there. 

At the hideout, Lewis finds a torn up paper, a wallet, and rope.  
Lewis Pepper: No sign of that stranger, but maybe these clues would help me track him down. A torn up paper. It has the logo of the police department. I need to fix it up. There’s a wallet here too, I can search for an ID in here. What about this rope? Right, Mario was tied up with this same rope. The killer must have dropped it off here. Maybe collecting that clear liquid on the rope can get me one step closer to solving this case. 

Lewis collects the sample on the rope.  
Lewis Pepper: I can give this to Samantha and she can tell me what it is.

He sends the sample to the lab and fixes up the paper.  
Lewis Pepper: It’s a police sheet for something, but I can’t understand a word. Mystery can help figure it out for me.

He sends the paper to Mystery and looks in the wallet.  
Lewis Pepper: So this stranger who ran away is named Rengi Dio  
Rengi Dio: Hey! How did you find me here!?  
Lewis Pepper: There you are. You are coming with me to the HQ. 

Rengi Dio is male, Italian, age 37, black hair, brown eyes, 5,7 tall, and weighs 156.

Lewis Pepper: Mr. Dio, why did your threaten me to stop investigating Mario’s murder.  
Rengi Dio: I told you, I didn’t threaten you. It was a warning. I know about his death, and I don’t want you to end up the same as he did.  
Lewis Pepper: I will make sure that doesn’t happen. Since I found your wallet in the building. What is that place?  
Rengi Dio: It’s our hideout. Mario found that place and it has been our home for years.  
Lewis Pepper: Is there anyone else in Mario’s gang I should know about?  
Rengi Dio: No. Me and Mario were the only ones who didn’t get killed, arrested, or quit. He even made me his partner in crime.  
Lewis Pepper: Ok, then. You’re staying here until we find Mario’s killer.  
Rengi Dio: Since I am staying here, can you get me some ramen and crackers? I’m starving. 

At the library.  
Mystery Yukino: I heard that your investigation got cutted off.  
Lewis Pepper: Yeah, what were the chances we were going to find a body at the same time we are doing our investigation?  
Mystery Yukino: High clearly. I did read the police file you gave to me. From reading the first sentence, I can tell you it’s a search warrant at the victim’s home. The person who made the search was one of your suspects from an old case, Earl Weston.  
Lewis Pepper: Earl Weston? I remember him. He tried to accuse Ray Carter of murder, but failed. If he had a search warrant for the victim, then he must know him. 

Earl Weston is a male, white, age 38, green eyes, blonde hair, 5.7 tall, and weighs at 145.  
Earl Weston: Mr. Pepper. I arrested at least 5 more homeless people. I don’t think our cells can hold more.  
Lewis Pepper: Don’t worry. With the cure, we can rest a little. By the way I found a search warrant you made towards Mario Bigdy.  
Earl Weston: The mobster? Yeah and I’m this close to arresting him. I know that he is using people’s information, but I don’t know what for.  
Lewis Pepper: Sorry to say this, but your suspect is dead. He was found murdered.  
Earl Weston: You’re kidding right!? This is the second time my suspects get murdered. Plus, I had evidence this time.  
Lewis Pepper: If you know anything else to help me with the case, give me a call. 

At the lab.  
Lewis Pepper: What was the sample I found on the rope?  
Samantha Romenz: I looked at the components on the sample and found traces of sugar, grape juice concentrate, and sulfur dioxide. These ingredients are used to make wine. Since the wine was found on the rope, it can only mean one thing.  
Lewis Pepper: The killer drinks wine. Their habit is what gets them to prison. Because I know that the killer drank wine, I should head back to the Gold Barrel for more clues.

Lewis goes back to the bar and finds a security camera and a note in italian on a napkin.  
Lewis Pepper: A security camera. It’s the best thing I can find. I can try to unlock it to see what was captured. There’s a napkin that has a note and it has Mario’s name on it, but I can’t read it and I don’t have time for Mystery to translate it to me. There’s a grease stain on the note, I can collect it and see what it is. 

Lewis unlocks the camera.  
Lewis Pepper: Arthur would love to see what it recorded. Time to send it to him.

He sends the security camera to the lab and collects the grease on the napkin.  
Lewis Pepper: Now I can analyze what the grease stain is.

He analyzes the grease stain to be special spaghetti.  
Lewis Pepper: It says that the stain is a special dish that has spaghetti with salad on top. Oh wait, Vivi told me that Benzuli Folito was serving that special dish. So it was him who made that note. I got to ask him what it’s about. 

Lewis Pepper: Benzuli, what does this note to Mario say you put on the napkin?  
Benzuli Folito: Oh, it’s just a friendly note. I just want him to say thank you for giving me ramen and crackers.  
Lewis Pepper: Actually, I should let one of my colleagues check the note himself and see if it's what it says.  
Benzuli Folito: Wait! Ok, you got me. I wrote that I didn’t want him to take my resturant away.  
Lewis Pepper: What do you mean take your resturant away?  
Benzuli Folito: He wanted to buy my spot, so he can make his own business. I had this restaurant for years and I won’t let some mafia mobster take my creation away from me. I bet he couldn’t make a good garlic knot like I do. I’m a master at knots.  
Lewis Pepper: I hope that you didn’t kill him for your restaurant Benzuli or you will lose everything. 

At the lab.  
Arthur Kingsmen: Man, I have a lot of news for you.  
Lewis Pepper: Tell me then. I’m eager to know what you got.  
Arthur Kingsmen: First, I can tell you that both Benzuli and Sebastian drink wine, along with Maria who drinks them out of other people’s glasses.  
Lewis Pepper: Ok, anything else?  
Arthur Kingsmen: Yes, there was some sort of argument between your victim and Sebastian, take a look. 

Footage starts.  
Sebastian Filo: I told you Mario, I’ll get the rent money by you tomorrow night.  
Mario Bigdy: You’re a month late on rent! You better get me that money by tomorrow night, or you and your whole gang will lose everything I own. Including your land.  
Footage ends.

Lewis Pepper: I can’t believe it. Sebastian told me that he didn’t know the victim. I want to know why he lied about it.

Lewis Pepper: Sebastian, why did you lie about not knowing Mario. We have proof that you two talked about the rent money.  
Sebastian Filo: It has to come to this then. Fine, I did lie. I hated Mario for bothering me about the money. I mean, I’m sorry it’s a month late, but I was trying to get the money. It was so bad, that me and my whole crew had to eat off of ramen and crackers for weeks.  
Lewis Pepper: Now he’s dead. You better not had killed him over rent Sebastian. 

At the HQ.  
Lewis Pepper: This has been a tough case to crack. Even though we met the suspects from old cases, they still have secrets to hide. Sebastian said he hated Mario for stressing him over the rent and Benzuli begged him not to take his restaurant. Then there’s Earl Weston, who was spying on the victim and his partner in crime Rengi Dio, who is warning me to stop solving his murder. I think that sounds a little suspicious if I think about it.  
Vivi Yukino: Speaking of Rengi, we have a problem.  
Lewis Pepper: What happened with Rengi?  
Vivi Yukino: He’s not in the interrogation room anymore. He escaped!


	3. Chapter 3

Lewis Pepper: This is a tough case to crack. No matter how many answers I find, suspects have a lot of secrets they’re not telling me. Especially Rengi Dio who-  
Vivi Yukino: About Rengi Dio, we have a problem.  
Lewis Pepper: What happened with Rengi?  
Vivi Ykino: He’s not in the interrogation room anymore. He must have escaped!  
Lewis Pepper: How!? We had that door locked.  
Mystery Yukino: Lucky for him, he must know lock picking. I found signs of one.  
Lewis Pepper: This means he might be Mario’s killer! I need to go back to the docks where I found him last time. 

At the docks.  
Lewis Pepper: Rengi, where are you? I know you’re here!  
Rengi Dio: Oh hey there. Have y-you tried this w-wine yet? (Hic) I-It really hits the sssspot.  
Lewis Pepper: Great, he’s drunk. It’s the last thing I need when catching someone. I still have to find out who killed Mario Bigdy.  
Rengi Dio: Let me t-tell you a-about Mario. H-he was nothing m-more than a pathetic b-baby who d-did n-nothing but c-complain a lot. (Hic).  
Lewis Pepper: Thank you for telling me that. After you're all sober up, tell me more. I can find more clues here while I wait. 

Lewis searches the docks to find a letter with money and a photo with the victim in it.  
Lewis Pepper: With Rengi getting sober, I should kill some time. Like that letter, it has money in it. It also says take the money, but there’s no name on it. Collecting some fingerprints can help me see who the dealers were. There’s a photo with the victim on it with a girl. On the back it says, “You broke my heart!” Wow, it sounds like someone was in love with the victim. Maybe collecting that black stuff can help me who took the picture. 

He collects the fingerprints on the envelope.  
Lewis Pepper: Arthur can tell me who these fingerprints belong to. 

He sends the fingerprints to the lab and collects the sample of the black dust.  
Lewis Pepper: I can put this in the database to see what it is. 

He puts the black dust in the database.  
Lewis Pepper: It says that the black dust is ashes from cigarettes. Maria Eren said that she smokes. I didn’t know she was in love with the victim. I need to hear what she says about this.

Lewis Pepper: Maria Eren, were in love with Mario Bigdy?  
Maria Eren: I don’t know what you are talking about.  
Lewis Pepper: You wrote that he broke your heart on this photo with him and another girl.  
Maria Eren: Get that photo away from me! (sighs) It’s true. I did love Mario and he did love me too. At least that’s what I thought. I had always dreamed that he would help me get away from this disgusting place and can get me the most richest things. I would’ve stopped eating ramen and crackers and gotten rid of my smoking habit.  
Lewis Pepper: Then you found him dating another girl?  
Maria Eren: I didn’t find him on my own. A friend of mine took that picture and showed it to me to tell me how he doesn’t love me. How could he? Our love was like my knots that no one can untie. I’m glad that terrible mobster is dead.  
Lewis Pepper: I hope you didn’t kill him too. 

At the lab.  
Arthur Kingsmen: I got the fingerprints for you Lewis, but you won’t believe where it came from.  
Lewis Pepper: I’m all ears.  
Arthur Kingsmen: So I found that the first set of fingerprints came from the victim.  
Lewis Pepper: So it was him who had the money, what about the second set?  
Arthur Kingsmen: This is where things take a turn. The second set came from one of your suspects, Earl Weston.  
Lewis Pepper: Weston!? Why was his fingerprints on the envelope? Did the victim try to bribe Earl. I need to speak to him immediately. 

Earl Weston: Mr. Pepper, when is this cure going to be made? A lot of our men are getting tired.  
Lewis Pepper: It’s me who asks the questions now. Did Mario Bigdy try to bride you?  
Earl Weston: He did. I thought he was really stupid when he did that. I didn’t tell you before, because I didn’t take the money. I know my job well and Mario knew the consequences.  
Lewis Pepper: By consequences, you mean by killing him.  
Earl Weston: Absolutely not! I was planning to use that against him in court. You know I’ll never kill a man. 

Lewis Pepper: Man, both Maria and Earl really had issues with Mario and it’s going to get more with his partner in crime Rengi. I should check on him and see if he is sober now.

Rengi Dio: Man, my head is hurting. Why did I drink that wine?  
Lewis Pepper: You tell me. While you were drunk, you said that Mario was nothing more than a pathetic baby.  
Rengi Dio: Uh oh. That’s not good.  
Lewis Pepper: After what you did Rengi, tell me one reason why I shouldn’t arrest you for murder?  
Rengi Dio: Because I didn’t kill him! It was true that Mario was a pathetic baby. He would always ask me to do stuff for him because he was so lazy. I had to threaten people to pay their rent, order food for him. He couldn’t even tie his own shoes, so I had to make tight knots to make sure I won’t do them again! He was worthless! That’s why I didn’t want you to solve his murder, his killer deserves to be free.  
Lewis Pepper: You sure did have problems with Mario, but I’ll wrap you in chains if you were the one who ended his life. 

At the HQ.  
Lewis Pepper: Vivi, you won’t have to worry about Rengi about escaping. I made sure he stays put by handcuffing him with no lockpicks.  
Vivi Yukino: That’s a relief. You still need to find out who killed Mario Bigdy.  
Lewis Pepper: That’s why I’m going back to the hideout since no one can stop me from entering there again. 

At the hideout, Lewis finds an empty wine bottle and a lead pipe.  
Lewis Pepper: An empty bottle of wine. Sammy said that the killer drank wine when they were holding the rope. I can collect the saliva from the top to find the killer. This lead pipe has blood on it. Danny said that the killer used a pipe to knock Mario out with. I need to collect that weird substance on the handle. I’m getting close to solving this murder, I can feel it. 

He takes the samples off of the lead pipe and the wine bottle.  
Lewis Pepper: I should give these samples to Sammy and get prepared to arrest the killer. 

At the lab.  
Lewis Pepper: Sammy, what did you find about the samples I gave you? I’m really excited about arresting the killer.  
Samantha Romenz: I know you are. On the lead pipe, the blood on there was the victim's, so this is the one that the killer used. I took a look at the substance that you gave me, and I found that this weird substance is gel.  
Lewis Pepper: Gel? How does this help?  
Samantha Romenz: Because I’m not done yet silly. The gel I found is the ones for people with mustaches.  
Lewis Pepper: The killer has a mustache. It's like they’re a villain from the wild west. What about the saliva on the wine bottle?  
Samantha Romenz: I also analyzed the saliva. Unfortunately, everytime I get DNA like this, it always comes out damaged. It’s like something doesn’t want us to reveal the whole thing. All I can tell you is that the killer has green eyes.  
Lewis Pepper: Green eyes. That narrows down a few of our suspects.

Lewis Pepper: I’m ready to arrest Mario Bigdy’s killer. Let’s do this!  
Arrest the Killer:  
Benzuli Folito: eats ramen and crackers, makes knots, drinks wine, green eyes, has a mustache.  
Maria Eren: Eats ramen and crackers, makes knots, drinks wine, green eyes.  
Sebastian Filo: Eats ramen and crackers, drinks wine, blue eyes, has a mustache  
Rengi Dio: Eats ramen and crackers, makes knots, drinks wine, brown eyes, has a mustache  
Earl Weston: green eyes

Lewis brings the killer to the interrogation room.  
Lewis Pepper: Benzuli Folito, you are the one who killed Mario Bigdy.  
Benzuli Folito: Mama Mia! I know that I was desperate to keep my restaurant, but I didn’t kill him, honest.  
Lewis Pepper: You ate ramen and crackers after his murder, we found the crumbs on his jacket.  
Benzuli Folito: What’s wrong with eating? It’s not a crime.  
Lewis Pepper: No, but tying someone’s ankles with rope is a crime and your knot making skill led us to you.  
Benzuli Folito: I was a boy scout when I was a kid, there’s no way I would remember to tie knots well.  
Lewis Pepper: Then you must have also forgotten that leaving evidence like the lead pipe you knocked him out and the empty wine bottle you drank in the victim's hideout were never a good place to hide them. I have your DNA and your mustache cream on those things. Were you that desperate to kill a man to save your restaurant?  
Benzuli Folito: I told him not to mess with me! (silence)  
Lewis Pepper: So it is true, you wanted to save your restaurant.  
Benzuli Folito: No, you don’t understand. I had many reasons to kill him, even when we were young.  
Lewis Pepper: Young? How long did you know each other for?  
Benzuli Folito: A long time, we were cousins.  
Lewis Pepper: Mario was your cousin!? How come you never told me about that before?  
Benzuli Folito: Because I knew you would focus on me. Well, I guess that didn’t matter anyway since I’m here. Like I said, I had many reasons to kill him. He would always pick on me when I was weak and helpless, calling me names like fatty and mama’s boy.  
Lewis Pepper: Sounds like he gave you a hard life.  
Benzuli Folito: He did. Before my grandfather died, he told Mario that he was going to be the one in charge. My life was over when I heard this and I needed to get out of Italy as soon as possible. I had my passport, my immigration papers done, and my suitcase ready to go to the United States. Before I left, I wrote a letter to Mario saying that if I ever see him again, he’ll regret everything. Then it was peaceful for a couple of years.  
Lewis Pepper: Then he came to America.  
Benzuli Folito: He knew where I was at and wanted to torment me again like when we were kids, but worse. He even ruled over the entire district! Him trying to take my restaurant was the last straw. So I told him to meet up at the docks to talk about it. He saw me with that bottle of wine and my ramen and crackers and laughed at me. He said that I was too weak to kill him! I proved him wrong. My first thought was to beat him to death with that lead pipe, but I wanted to kill him slowly. When I saw that small crane, I knew what to do. I tied his ankles to the crane and lowered him to the water. He woke up from the water and he kept screaming. I told him he was going to regret everything and he did. I lifted up that crane and saw his lifeless body hanging on the crane. I was happy that the monster was dead for good.  
Lewis Pepper: I know that you had a rough life, but murder doesn’t solve anything. You're under arrest Benzuli. 

At the courthouse.  
Judge Emily: Benzuli Folito, you are here by court for the murder of Mario Bigdy. How do you plead?  
Benzuli Polito: Guilty your honor, and I’m proud of it.  
Judge Emily: You killed your own cousin because he kept ruining your life. You could’ve let Earl Weston arrest him or deport him back to Italy.  
Benzuli Polito: I wasn’t going to let him torment me for my whole life. I had to keep him away for good.  
Judge Emily: Since you show signs of no remorse or guilt, I sentence you to life in prison with no parole along with some therapy.  
Benzuli Polito: LIfe? What about my restaurant? Who’s going to look after Fazali’s?  
Judge Emily: You should have thought of that before you murder someone. Court dismissed. 

At the HQ.  
Lewis Pepper: I know this case was wacky, but man. Benzuli clearly had the worst time of his life. I’m just glad that he’s getting therapy.  
Vivi Yukino: Yeah and now that we solved Mario’s murder, we can continue finding this serum injector. We need to do it fast before they inject anymore people.


	4. Secret Subjects 5 of 6

Lewis Pepper: Now that Benzuli is in prison for murdering his cousin, we can still continue our search for the serum injector.   
Vivi Yukino: We can start at the police station. Earl Weston just called, he says it’s urgent.   
Lewis Pepper: Ok, I’ll see what he needs and Vivi, go check with Dr. Eric and see how he’s doing with the cure.  
Vivi Yukino: I’m on it. This person may have gotten away many times, but this is the night we stop them. 

At the police station.  
Earl Weston: Oh thank god you're here! I need your help!  
Lewis Pepper: Officer Weston, calm down. What’s the problem?   
Earl Weston: Well, when we were getting more of those homeless people to the cells, one of them escaped and the police couldn’t find him. I’m afraid that he is going to start havoc if we don’t find him in time.  
Lewis Pepper: You can count on me. I’ll find this man and return him back.  
Earl Weston: Thank you, and I want to apologize for the trouble you went through with that Mario case. 

Lewis Pepper: Hmm, I honestly don’t know where to start, but I can look for clues at places that are not crowded, like the docks. I can check if this homeless man went there.

At the docks, Lewis finds a torn cloth.   
Lewis Pepper: What is this torn cloth doing here? I should fix it up to see what it is. 

Lewis fixes the cloth.  
Lewis Pepper: It’s a jacket. It looks old and dirty. Is this his? Why would he rip it up? Unless someone else did this. Maybe Mystery can know, he’s a good sniffer and can sense people’s possessions. I should give this to him. 

At the library.  
Mystery Yukino: I must say Lewis, it has been a long time since I used to do these kinds of stuff.   
Lewis Pepper: You mean you couldn’t find the owner?  
Mystery Yukino: No, I know who this belongs too. It’s just that I used to do this before you knew my kitsune form. I kinda like being a searcher dog.   
Lewis Pepper: Yeah, I miss those old days too. So, who did the jacket belong to?   
Mystery Yukino: As I sensed it, I found out that the owner is someone who is male, hispanic, in his thirties, and bald.   
Lewis Pepper: I know one person that fits that description, Sebastian Filo. If he was there at the docks, he should know where this homeless man is at.

Lewis Pepper: Sebastian, I found and fixed your jacket.   
Sebastian Filo: Thank you so much, I thought this jacket was gone forever.  
Lewis Pepper: What exactly happened to your jacket? I just want to know.  
Sebastian Filo: I was just minding my own business, until this crazy dude tried to attack me. He must’ve been one of those homeless people everyone was talking about. I had to defend myself and then he stole my jacket and ripped it up. I was surprised to know the strength that guy had. He ripped it up as if it was paper. Then he went off to the Gold Barrel. I guess he wanted a drink after attacking me.  
Lewis Pepper: Thank you and be careful, this person might inject you.   
Sebastian Filo: I’m not homeless, but just in case, I should watch my back. 

Lewis Pepper: Sebastian said that the man went into the bar. Hopefully, he’s there. 

At the bar, he finds a sleeping homeless man.   
Lewis Pepper: There he is. It looks like he’s sleeping, so I should be very quiet when bringing him back to the station. (Picks up the guy) I really hope people will think I workout, or I’m going to get a lot of questions. 

At the police station  
Lewis Pepper: I got the guy, officer Weston. He’s sleeping, so be careful when putting him to his cell.  
Earl Weston: That’s great. I knew I could trust you. Don’t worry, I got a place for him to stay at. I hope you catch this person and make them pay.   
Lewis Pepper: I hope so too. I have to head back to make a plan to catch them. 

At the doctor’s office.  
Vivi Yukino: Dr. Eric, how is it going with the cure?  
Walter Eric: It’s going good. I did some research and I found out that using this serum and the morphine can help slow down their nervous system which calms the brain down, turning these people back to normal.   
Vivi Yukino: That’s good news. Do you have the ingredients?  
Walter Eric: That’s a thing I wanted to talk about. You see, I have the jug full of the serum, but not the morphine. I think that the ship was supposed to bring back a shipment of them today.  
Vivi Yukino: Then I’ll find that morphine to you.   
Walter Eric: Good because after this, we will become heroes of the Rural District.  
Vivi Yukino: Not yet, we still need to find the serum injector and bring them to justice. 

At the docks, Vivi finds a box full of morphine.   
Vivi Yukino: Yes! There’s the morphine, Dr. Eric was talking about. But how much is there? There’s an info sheet on the side, but it’s faded. I need to dust it. 

Vivi dusts the info sheet.   
Vivi Yukino: It says that there’s at least 5 tons of morphine in here. It should be enough to make a cure for everyone. Samantha said that she’s helping Dr. Eric with the cure, so I should give this box to her.  
At the lab.  
Vivi Yukino: Did it work? Do we have the cure?  
Samantha Romenz: Yes, we do! We tested it on some rats and they are back to normal.  
Walter Eric: And that’s not all. I also concluded that people would be safe from the serum before they are even injected from it.  
Vivi Yukino: Nice! Everyone is safe from the serum.  
Walter Eric: Not yet. We haven’t tested it on a human yet and I’m afraid that if it doesn’t work on humans, we need to find something else.   
Vivi Yukino: So we don’t have a human to help this. Wait a minute. I got it! Maria Eren, she can help us.  
Samantha Romenz: The homeless woman? What does she have to do?   
Vivi Yukino: Maria hasn’t gotten injected with the serum yet and she would properly like to help out.   
Walter Eric: If you think that this Maria Eren can help with our testing, then go ahead. Do you know where she is?  
Vivi Yukino: Of course. She lives in the alleyway next to the Fazali’s. It’s her home.

At the alleyway.   
Maria Eren: I remembered you. I need your help.   
Vivi Yukino: I was going to say the same thing, but go ahead.  
Maria Eren: I keep hearing about this person injecting homeless people a serum that’s making them insane. I don’t want them to inject me, I want to live.   
Vivi Yukino: That’s why I’m here. We have a cure, but we don’t have a human to test it with. I was hoping if you’ll help volunteer to test out the cure.  
Maria Eren: Really? You have a cure? I would love to test that cure.  
Vivi Yukino: Excellent! I’ll bring you to the Dr. Eric at the HQ to inject you with the cure. 

An hour later.  
Samantha Romenz: I have great news. The cure works.   
Vivi Yukino: That’s awesome! Maria, how do you feel?   
Maria Eren: I still feel the same way before. No pains, not crazy.   
Walter Eric: It means the cure works. Now that we got the cure, I can go to the police station and get those people back to normal.   
Vivi Yukino: You do that. Meanwhile, we still need to find the person who is doing this.  
Arthur Kingsmen: That’s why I have a plan to get them.   
Vivi Yukino: Ok then, what is your plan?   
Arthur Kingsmen: I was thinking. Since they don’t know that Maria has been injected with a cure, she can be the bait.  
Vivi Yukino: How exactly does this work?  
Arthur Kingsmen: Easy, Maria will have this tracker which is a hairpiece that will be on her hair that will track wherever she’ll go.   
Maria Eren: So this tracker will follow my exact movement?   
Arthur Kingsmen: Yep, and if you can press this button on the hairpiece, it will become an alert system that lets us know that you're in danger.  
Maria Eren: That sounds good, but where will I go?  
Arthur Kingsmen: Anywhere, this person properly knows that you are the last one left. Just trust me, this is the perfect plan.   
Vivi Yukino: I trust you Arthur. We got this person at the end of the cliff, let's bust their butts.


End file.
